Dries Van Noten Menswear SS/08

Dries Van Noten, of the "Antwerp 6," took his menswear show from Paris to Milan for SS/08 presenting a collection integrating traditionally feminine fabrics such as organza and mouselline in masculine shapes within an extensive color scope of lilac, fluoro-orange and -yellow to fuchsias, warm red and imperial purple.

Fencing and scuba diving trousers, satin judo shorts along with cache coeur shirts, nylon windbreakers were highlight pieces alongside the forte menswear items like double breasted jackets and trench coats.

The range of the collection comes with intention to make "colors believable for guys" by integrating them in forms "as masculine as possible," says Van Noten. The deep and neon color palette meshes with several "non-colors" throughout the line giving different looks different pops.

In addition to color, the spectrum of new "technical materials" like plastified polystics, mixtures of silk with nylon, and acetates with the Van Noten traditionalist twist brought unique variance in the sheer, see-through shirts and outerwear pieces. Altogether, the elements of the DVN SS/08 collection were able to make an bright, innovative and memorable collection, imprinting much of menswear's spring and summer trends.

Nylon Windcheater 235

2-Tone Boxing Shorts 205

Polyamide jacket 215

Sheer patchwork shirt 205

Jogging pant  €235

@ brownfashion.com

Truth: The Royal Arts Academy alumni the "Antwerp 6" consist of Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Von Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Dirk Bikkembergs.

Truth: Dries Van Noten does no advertising for menswear or womenswear.

Truth: Dries Van Noten employs a private chef to not only feed his retail buyers healthy, delicious meals but bake them cakes on their birthdays.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Prada's Trembled Blossoms SS/08

Download the video at prada.com under the animation tab.
Available for Quicktime, iPhone and your Prada phone.

VidFlip: Acne SS/08 Lookbook

Flip through the Acne SS/08 Lookbook with us by subscribing to our podcast. Find the feed here. Head to your iTunes, click the Advanced tab and select "Subscribe to podcast..." then paste the feed URL. From then on, new MONDblog podcasts will download automatically to your iTunes.
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For further information on Acne, read about how the label is bringing Stockholm to to the states with their first American studio at Refinery29. The article includes an interview with creative director Jonny Johannsson and photos of the new studio store.

Store Spotlight: Complex Geometries

Say Complex Geometries' Spring/Summer 2008 pieces are out of your reach because you don't live in Tokyo, New York, Montréal or Copenhagen —  well, the Complex Geometries webstore makes up for that. Pieces in outerwear, tops, bottoms and accessories come in all shapes, sizes and hand-dyed colors at the Complex Geometries website. Get your goods delivered to you internationally from label-base city Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Menswear for SS/08

Details and subtle touches to basics make pieces more unique and desirable this spring. (That's right — goodbye to basics.) Graphic art and broader color swatches make t-shirts and shorts more fun to incorporate into warm weather ware. Visit Mintshop, an online-shopping store in Australia for tees and singlets with graphic art prints.
Art and broader color schemes are exactly the distraction we need from the more conservative menswear reflecting upon our... "challenging times." (Good luck trying to stretch your dollar in overseas webstores, though.)

New York menswear boutique BBlessing comes in from the shorts end with navy, "fire" and khaki cut off shorts by Obedient Sons. The shorts have a price tag of $120 at Bblessing's webstore.
Those on the other southern hemisphere moving into fall/winter, a 100% cotton Raf Simons "lime special" sweater surely pops a unique color to your outerwear; the sweater goes for $365. The Raf Simons SS/08 collection piece fits true to size and can also be found in orange and purple in the webstore.



Conservative pieces have seamed their way into spring looks. Jackets, vests, hats come together with shorts in cool new ways by Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Miharayasuhiro; the trickle is evident down at ASOS with trilbies and fitted jackets.

Hysteric Glamour with Natasha Poly and Mat Gordon

Dare you to describe Gucci's Spring 2008 ad campaign in one word.
Shouldn't everyone make video campaigns? We think so.

P.S — Inspiring spring looks for the guys and new online-shops to be introduced. (We haven't forgot about you.)

About A Designer: Miuccia Prada

The New York Times Magazine's Art Issue puts Miuccia Prada front and center with her her beneficiaries, artists Francesco Vezzoli and John Baldessari. The article focuses on the Prada house's quietly built art foundation compiled within the past decade. The issue is out today. Tell us what you learned about it if you've happened to snag a copy.

Miuccia Prada continues weaving the Prada house with art when she instilled art illustrations in Prada's Spring-Summer 2008 ready-to-wear collection. The season's collection included art by Los Angeles artist James Jean. Jean's not only created prints in pieces but also helped set up the woodland backdrop for the SS/08 show, animated illustrations for a short promo Prada film and designed the wallpaper for the Beverly Hills and NYC Prada stores. James Jean's website includes a portfolio of the listed work at jamesjean.com.



Coming this week: some inspiring spring looks and where to shop for them.
And coming soon: a video podcast flip through the Acne Jeans SS/08 Lookbook fresh from Sweden.